Family

To
tap things off this month, I started my dance class.  I'm on tap of the
world, the tap dog, at the tap of my class, tap o' the mornin' to ya…
tap that one.  Good grief.

What a great leg-workout, and hokey
and fun to boot.  Imagine stomping about on a wooden floor to a song
called Carrot Stew, a dance that conjures picnic plaids, poofy skirts,
pantalettes, and pig tails.  Sure, I'll start with clogging, but I'll
need to add true tap dancing at some point if I'm to continue my
rappity-clackity-dancity-fantasy. 

Watch Eleanor Powell go.  That ain't no clogging costume either. 

It would be extra cool to mix tapping with swing dancing. Oh if I had nothing else to do than dance all day.   

OMGoodness!  What a whirlwind month.  We've managed both of our
kids' birthdays, a wedding anniversary, a house hunt with/for my sister
& her family, a new office/warehouse hunt for Trash Ties, a Creative Escape
project design (fun!), a raised garden bed for the backyard, a
snow-camping adventure, and a monster sinus infection.  That's on top
of the regularly-scheduled programming around the studio. 

Elijah
is now 12 and Charlotte turned 4 yesterday.  Let me say, twelve is a
big one to absorb as a parent — how did that happen!?!  His cub paw
hardly fits in my hand anymore.  Four is a little crazy too. 
Especially when you're four-year-old speaks as well as an
eight-year-old and has a snappy, sophisticated sense of humor.  My mom
calls her Scarlett Bailey for her salty coquetry.  Sugary treats aren't nearly as tasty without a pinch of salt.

Just
yesterday, when my mom asked Charlotte what she'd like to eat for her
birthday dinner, Charlotte replied, "Nothing."  Then, when she saw a
twinge of disappointment in my mother's face for her lack of an answer,
Charlotte continued with a devlish smile, "Barf would be good!" 

My
mom and Charlotte had a good laugh over that one.  Mom loves
Charlotte's sassiness, so she gets a good helping of it.  In the end,
Charlotte chose hot dogs and strawberry lemonade, with cauliflower and
"green olives that taste like black ones" on the side — in
combination, far better than Mac N Cheese alone, which was the
runner-up menu.

Isaac’s
back on his feet and back to work on Charlotte’s dollhouse.  It was a
crafty day all around.  Isaac shingled the dollhouse for hours, while
Elijah built his first model airplane.  Charlotte looped velvet ribbons
and string back and forth across my studio, while I sketched and
painted new fabrics.  No computers, no Nintendo DS’s, no Gameboys, Wiis
or XBoxes, just some old-fashioned, creative, use-your-mind fun.  It
was a good day.

We’ll see how tonight goes.  I’m already spent from staying out late
last night to celebrate my wedding anniversary.  We went to a nice
Italian restaurant and then out to see The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. I’m still mad that Cate Blanchett didn’t receive an Oscar for Elizabeth.
There’s a scene in CCofBB where Cate dances on a terrace or gazebo in a
fabulous red dress… Watch for it.  It’s breathtaking.

The photos above are from our Nutcracker outing.
Charlotte’s trying hard not to smile.  Isaac and she had a game going.
(This explains the funky camera angles.  I don’t know about Charlotte,
but I thought he was funny.)

Anyhow.  I’m just popping in.  As today’s the last day to use our Happy Holidays coupons at the
Heather Bailey Store, I thought I’d just post a quick reminder.  I’m
feeling chattier than I thought though. I really do need to head out before the stores close. We have some party-prep errands to
run.  And I need a break from the computer — I’m all
boggle-eyed.

On that note — Have fun tonight & be safe!

What a week.  Isaac had to go back to the emergency room on Monday
and was admitted to the hospital.  The doctors wanted to keep a close
eye on his blood chemistry, which had been out of whack since last
Wednesday when Isaac first went to the emergency room for dehydration.
It turned out he’d had a fit of rhabo-myolysis.  Certain enzymes in his
blood needed to be flushed out with an IV while they made sure that
gunk didn’t damage his kidneys.  At home, that same night Charlotte
developed a super-fever and I had to baby her through the night to keep
her temperature down:  wet towels on the forehead, icy drinks,
medicine, blanket rearrangements.  I was up every hour or so.

Our whole dollhouse plan for Charlotte could not be completed
without Isaac, so I had to dive into the stores for a last-minute,
second gift-plan for Charlotte on Tuesday.  I had limited options for
who to call for babysitting, not wanting to get anyone else’s kids sick
for the holidays.  My mother dashed in with her flashing cape and
super-hero goggles to save the day.  Six frenzied hours later (lots of
long lines) I was back with a full sleigh. Then it was gift-wrapping
till 3am and fever-nursing all night again.

Isaac surprised us on Christmas Eve by returning from the hospital
earlier than expected. His bloodwork was looking better and better and
his kidneys had been working perfectly, so the doctors let him come
home for Christmas.  That night I fancied up our Christmas tree with
new baubles and fronds as a surprise for Isaac.  I didn’t originally
know if he’d be home before Christmas or not.  I figured a dolled-up
tree would add some holiday magic to our otherwise frazzled week. 

Christmas day was wonderful — though I was exhausted.  My parents
watched with us while the kids stirred up a storm of torn paper and
ribbon.  Later, Isaac made a champion breakfast of apple-fritter-bread
french toast, hash browns & bacon. Christmas dinner made a
last-minute detour to our house and everyone came over for a potluck of
good food and a white elephant exchange.  (I ended up with The Godthumb
on dvd — perfect white elephant, Matt!) 

My mom made all four of her kids a picnic blanket with loops at each
corner.  Each blanket came with a carrying bag and a set of tent stakes
for tacking the blanket in place through the loops.  What a ton of work
— and inventive!  (I’ll take some photos next time we head to the
park.)

I’m sure this Christmas will go down in family history — two
emergency room visits, a multiple-night stay in the hospital, a
last-minute Christmas swap-out for Charlotte, all-night fever care, a
Christmas dinner moved to our house, and new, feel-better tree bling to
jazz up our one perfect day this week — Christmas.

Yesterday I slept-in till 2pm.  And I’m still tired.

It seems like everyone I know has had some sort of hard, sad news
this week — or something dramatic going on.  Late night chats,
distracting movie outings and the like have all been required.  What a
crazy week. 

Our contribution to the drama involved a trip to the emergency room
on Wednesday night.  Isaac had some weird CO2 build up in his upper
body that caused his muscles to seize up and curl him into a contorted
ball — in lots of pain.  It had something to do with dehydration and
low potassium (I think).  He had exercised the previous hour and was on
a cool-down.  I haven’t had a chance to research this sort of thing
yet, but it
sounds a lot like decompression sickness — that scuba-diving thing. 

Isaac’s no namby-pamby either.  I’ve seen him blow off disgusting,
horrible gashes that should have required stitches, long tumbles down
rocky terrain while mountain-biking, etc.  For all of his macho
flesh-wounds, he says this CO2 thing was the worst pain he’s ever
felt. 

The pain was quickly resolved with a steady drip of liquids — mixed
with some calming something-or-other.  He’s been sluggish and tired
since, as his blood chemistry evens out again, but he’s almost
recovered.  Just a rough and strange interlude.  And Isaac and I missed
Elijah’s school concert : (

The holidays now resume.  I’ve spent the last day-plus, sewing
flouncy holiday skirts for a friend’s daughters and dollhouse dress-ups
for Charlotte.  I absolutely love to sew gifts, but I haven’t had the
heart for it much this year.  There hasn’t been much friend-sewing
since I made these doll blankets (here & here).

Let’s just say it’s great to be back at it!  Sound the triumphal horns.  Now, if I can just learn how to create time.

I’m hoping to have the presents delivered before we head out to see
the Nutcracker tonight —  care of the Moscow Ballet.  I expect we’ll
have to get more serious about dance class once Charlotte gets a good
look at the ballet gowns.  Charlotte is quite graceful.  She’d be a
great dancer.

Oh yes!  And speaking of dancing.  For years, I’ve wanted to sign up
for a Tap Dance class — just to make a loud, dancey racket.  I’ve done
some research and found (via Jen) a Saturday morning clogging class for women.  I
guess clogging shoes have two taps on each shoe, while tap shoes only
have one, therefore clogging = bigger racket.  That works for me — as
long as I still get to use Jazz hands : )  So I’m doing it!  I even
convinced my friend, Sarah, to take the class with me.  I just need to
find me some clackity-tappity shoes by January 10th.

Some Tid Bits

• Another giveaway — it must be giveaway season:  visit Ever After today to enter a drawing for a gift basket of paper-craft supplies from my Freshcut paper line.
• My assistant, Tara is having a baby girl!  (More gift-sewing to do.)
• The laundry is all folded!
• I discovered Apple Fritter Bread (ala Super Target).  It’s amazing. 
  Now I want to create my own recipe for it — and maybe other bread
  recipes based on treats from the doughnut store.